Traveling Wilburys

Reversing the usual process by which groups break up and give way to solo careers, the Traveling Wilburys are a group made up of solo stars. The group was organized by former <a href="spotify:artist:3WrFJ7ztbogyGnTHbHJFl2">Beatle</a> <a href="spotify:artist:7FIoB5PHdrMZVC3q2HE5MS">George Harrison</a>, former <a href="spotify:artist:7jefIIksOi1EazgRTfW2Pk">Electric Light Orchestra</a> leader <a href="spotify:artist:3bTAaMx9nf237AkBnGw3vL">Jeff Lynne</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:74ASZWbe4lXaubB36ztrGX">Bob Dylan</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2UZMlIwnkgAEDBsw1Rejkn">Tom Petty</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0JDkhL4rjiPNEp92jAgJnS">Roy Orbison</a>, thus representing three generations of rock stars. In 1988, the five (who had known each other for years) came together to record a <a href="spotify:artist:7FIoB5PHdrMZVC3q2HE5MS">Harrison</a> B-side single and ended up writing and recording an album on which they shared lead vocals. It turned out to be a way to transcend the high expectations made of any of them as individuals, and a delighted public sent the album to number three, with two singles, "Handle With Care" and "End of the Line" hitting the charts. Unfortunately, <a href="spotify:artist:0JDkhL4rjiPNEp92jAgJnS">Orbison</a> died of a heart attack only a few weeks after the album's release.

Two years later, the remaining quartet released a second album, inexplicably titled Vol. 3. Although it didn't match the success of the first Wilburys album, it was another million-selling hit. Throughout the '90s, there were rumors of another Traveling Wilburys record in the works, but no new albums from the group surfaced. <a href="spotify:artist:7FIoB5PHdrMZVC3q2HE5MS">Harrison</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2XThtYxaIaPS5o9soX7kAu">Lynne</a> did re-team in 1995, when <a href="spotify:artist:2XThtYxaIaPS5o9soX7kAu">Lynne</a> produced and reworked two <a href="spotify:artist:4x1nvY2FN8jxqAFA0DA02H">John Lennon</a> demos with <a href="spotify:artist:3WrFJ7ztbogyGnTHbHJFl2">the Beatles</a> for their Anthology rarities collection.

The Traveling Wilburys albums drifted out of print in the late '90s, making the 2007 release of The Traveling Wilburys Collection -- a double-disc set containing both albums, plus a bonus DVD -- a noteworthy affair. It debuted at number one in the U.K. and nine in the U.S., eventually earning platinum and gold certifications in the respective countries. In 2016, the collection saw a re-release on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Concord%22">Concord</a>. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi